Bloody Valentine
by Bl0odySaKuRa
Summary: Inuyasha is a merciless assassin whose life is full of lies, cheating, drugs, sex, and killing. When he is hired to kill a girl who is different, his bitterness is put to the test. Can she change him from the monster that he is?
1. Black Rose

A/N: This idea just kind of popped into my head when I was thinking of how lonely I always am on Valentines Day. All alone. On the day that _should_ be every girl's favorite holiday. If you like Murder, Mystery, Horror, and Romance all rolled into one, then I wrote this for you. Lots of gore. YAY!

Inuyasha is a merciless assassin who can never satisfy his lust for blood. His life is full of lies, cheating, drugs, sex, and killing. And then he is hired to kill a girl who is different from all the others, and his bitterness is put to the test. Can she change him from the monster he is?

Bloody Valentine

Business Proposition

Inuyasha stood hidden in the shadows of the cold, abandoned house. Dressed in all black, his hand was on the handle of the dilapidated door, and his other hand held a bouquet of roses. The red roses in Inuyasha's arms were a deep blood-red, sprinkled softly with the silvery dew of morning. One rose stuck apart from the rest, however; one dark, black rose hidden in the center of the other dozen. Inuyasha smiled softly, the sweet spring scent of the roses wafting up to his sensitive nose.

Slowly, he turned the handle of the door and stepped out into the crisp, cold, bitter February air. The trees were strands of brunette hair brushing the dark, gray sky. White frost sprinkled the grass and it crunched under his feet as Inuyasha walked briskly towards his car. Walking hurriedly to his black Ferrari, he threw the roses on the passenger seat, turned the keys, and backed out of the short driveway, away from the abandoned house on the deserted, dead end street. There wasn't a sound in the air as he drove to his destination.

One left, a right, two lefts and a right later, Inuyasha pulled the car to a halt in front of a small, comfortable, inviting looking house. Grabbing the roses from the seat beside him, he pushed open the car door, the cold air instantly nipping at the tips of his nose and ears. Then, he began to walk up the walk to the front door.

Before he could knock, the door cracked open and a beautiful girl dressed in a white blouse and a long red skirt stepped out. Her face was pale and flawless, her cheeks rosy and her lips a deep red, much like the roses. She smiled and threw her arms around Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Happy Valentines Day, Kikyo," Inuyasha said, handing her the roses.

"They're beautiful..." Kikyo said softly, her eyes sparkling as they met Inuyasha's.

"Just like you, Kikyo." Slowly, he leaned down and gently met her lips with his. Just a second, but a sweet second. Then he stepped back.

"Ready to go?" He asked her, smiling sincerely.

"Yes, let's go," Kikyo said, nodding and reaching inside for her coat. Then, Inuyasha took her hand and led her back down the walk to the car. He quickly jogged ahead and opened the passenger side door for her, bowing elegantly as she giggled and sat down. Then, he jogged around to his side of the car and hopped in.

"It's a surprise, so you aren't allowed to see where we're going," he said, pulling out a black cloth from his pocket.

"Okay," Kikyo answered uncertainly.

"Don't worry," Inuyasha said, tying the cloth to cover her eyes. "You trust me, don't you?" he asked, looking hurt.

"Yes, Inuyasha. I trust you," she said, smiling.

"Then let's go," Inuyasha laughed, turning the key to start the car and driving off.

Within ten minutes, he brought the car to a stop. He walked around to Kikyo's side and opened the door for her, helping her out of the car.

"Can you remove the blindfold now?" she asked hopefully and eagerly.

"Not yet, just a little bit longer," Inuyasha answered, leaded her somewhere where she could not see.

The characteristics of the ocean filled her senses; water lapping at the banks, a buoy chiming in the distance, the wooden planks on the water causing sloshing sounds, and the salty smell in the air. She heard her feet walking on the wooden planks, and she felt her hand in Inuyasha's as he led her closer and closer to what she could hear was the waters edge.

Finally, he stopped walking and drew her close to him. Kissing her lightly on the lips, he put his arms around her, untied the blindfold, threw it into the water, and stepped back from her. She looked around at the moonlit canal, smiling softly. She noticed her roses in Inuyasha's hands. He smiled, but there was something in his smile that she could not name.

"Kikyo..." Inuyasha said her name softly, gently.

"Inuyasha," she responded lovingly.

Then, Inuyasha reached for a red rose in the bouquet that he held in his arms. He gently moved Kikyo's hair and placed the flower behind her ear. He kissed her gently on the cheek.

"I love you, Inuyasha," she whispered. He remained silent as she threw her arms around him. He returned the embrace, wrapping his arms around her, but as she closed her eyes, savoring the feeling of being in his arms, he carefully and quietly pulled the black rose from the center of the bouquet. Thorns lined the stem, looking dark and evil and eager for blood.

His lips curled up in a devilish smile as with a sudden movement, he pulled away from Kikyo, shoving her backwards. As she struggled to remain on her two feet, he stepped forward, a dark look in his eyes. He shoved her the rose, waving it in front of her eyes, and then pressed it lightly against her neck.

"Good-bye, Kikyo."

And then, he pressed the thorns into her neck, the force throwing her backwards even more. Then with an even swifter movement, he slid the stem across her neck, tearing up chunks of her pale, smooth flesh. Her blood poured over her shirt, down to the wooden planks where she stood for the last two seconds of her life. Then, as her body fell forward, Inuyasha caught her in his arms and brought her to the edge of the dock and slipped her body into the cold, icy water.

"Good-bye," he said again. And then, before turning his back and returning to his car to drive away, he threw the bouquet of the final eleven roses into the water after her.

A/N: So? What do you think? I'll only update if I get reviews! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW?


	2. 1,800

A/N: Next Chapter! I got really good reviews, so I hope they continue! Enjoy!

Inuyasha is a merciless assassin who can never satisfy his lust for blood. His life is full of lies, cheating, drugs, sex, and killing. And then he is hired to kill a girl who is different from all the others, and his bitterness is put to the test. Can she change him from the monster he is?

Bloody Valentine 

The abandoned house was bathed in darkness as Inuyasha stepped into it. The wood of the floor creaked under his feet, and his breath was misty in the cold darkness of the house. He shivered slightly and stepped towards the weak, dilapidated steps that led to the basement.

The stairs creaked underneath his weight, for they were weak with age and termites. He stepped carefully, testing the haphazard boards of wood beneath him and placing his foot down lightly. He was prepared for the steps to collapse at any minute. He was prepared to leap into the air and land on safe ground, if there was any in the old house.

At the foot of the stairs, his feet met a hard, cold, dirty cement floor of the dimly lit basement. The ceiling was low, but it was high enough for him to stand straight and tall without bumping his head, as long as he watched out for the pipes hanging from the ceiling.

There was an old bed with a fairly new mattress in one of the corners, and beside it was an old wooden nightstand with a small lamp on it. There was a television and a couch in the center of the large room and a small makeshift kitchen in another corner. In the final corner was a door that hardly covered the doorframe at all. Beyond the dilapidated door was a bathroom that looked clean, but only after dedicated cleaning.

Inuyasha sat down on the bed, hunching his back and slumping down. He looked at his hands, still stained red with Kikyo's blood. He snickered. This job had gotten him nearly one thousand dollars from her disgruntled ex-boyfriend. Most of his jobs required him to pose as the lover of the girl he was sent to kill, and most of his jobs concerned an angry ex. Inuyasha shook his head at such a stupid and pointless reason to kill someone, but this was how he lived. This was how he gained his money; this was how he had chosen to survive. As a murderer. He was a murderer who killed for money. An assassin strictly because of his anger after being abandoned by his father. Lessened, next to his older brother. He was filled with hatred and anger and would do anything to relieve himself, until the next memory came along.

He fell to the cement floor, his fists clenched, and punched the hard ground. Pulling back his bloody knuckles, he swore in pain and frustration. He sat back on the bed, this time leaning against the pillows. His hair hung over his face, hiding his expression in shadows. But behind the curtain of silver hair was one silver tear sliding gently down his cheek. A tear of anger, frustration, hatred, sadness, abandonment, and desperation. Just one tear.

Just then, a ringing sound echoed through the dark, grimy basement and Inuyasha pulled a small black cell phone out of his pocket.

"Yeah?" he asked irritably.

"This Inuyasha?" the voice on the other end had a slight southern accent.

"What of it?" Inuyasha replied coldly.

"Heard of you from a friend. Me and another man are here to talk business."

"What kind of business?" Inuyasha sat up straight, suddenly very businesslike. He hadn't expected to get another job so soon.

"I'm David and I'm here with Zack. I'm not giving you our last names because I wouldn't trust an assassin with my shoelace. We want you to go after a girl. Her name's Kagome."

"You want me to assassinate her?"

"You got it."

"How much?"

"I've got fifteen hundred in my hands right now."

Inuyasha perked up at the high offer.

"Nice offer. I accept. I need as much information as you can give me. Address, family background, past relationships, likes, dislikes."

"I don't remember her exact address, but I know she's somewhere in New York. She has a pretty rough family background. Some difficulty with her folks. Past relationships… just me and Zack. She likes music, dance, manga, writing, and the usual girl crap. And she doesn't like me or Zack. She ditched Zack for me, and when I ditch her, she thinks its okay to get together with this other guy. How fucked is that?"

Inuyasha cut him off before he went into too much detail.

"If you don't know her address, then that's more work on my part. New York is a big state." Inuyasha argued, fishing for some more cash.

"Hang on," David said. In the background Inuyasha could hear his voice asking someone else to fork over two hundred bucks. "I've got another two hundred for you if you do it."

"Yeah. How do you want it done?" Inuyasha asked. He could charge extra for whatever David said in reply.

"I want her to fall for you. Head over heels. And before you kill her, I want you to break her heart. And let her know that it's a gift from me and Zack."

Inuyasha chuckled.

"I don't normally pull stunts like that. It's a little extra effort for me…"

"I'll give you eighteen hundred and that's it. I just want her dead. Make sure it happens."

Inuyasha heard a click and the line went dead. He grinned. Eighteen hundred dollars would hold him over until the next job, especially with the money he got for the last one. He rested back against his pillows but then pulled out his cell phone. He checked for caller ID and found David's last name, then headed out again. He would need to put in an extra few hours of research to find David's address to collect his cash. Kagome, on the other hand, wouldn't require too much information. He knew quite enough about Kagome already.

A/N: Okay, okay, so it's really short. PLEASE DON'T SHOOT ME! JUST PLEASE REVIEW AND MAYBE ILL POST THE NEXT CHAPTER REALLY SOON!


	3. Kagome

A/N: IM SO SORRY THAT IT HAS TAKEN ME SO LONG! Things have gotten pretty hectic for me what with midterms… and I've been so lazy lately! I also accidentally deleted all of my stories! AHHH! As well as that, I also changed my penname to bl0odysakura. I still love to climb trees, tho. I hope none of you have lost interest, cuz I'm coming back strong! I promise that I'll update a lot more now!

Inuyasha is a merciless assassin who can never satisfy his lust for blood. His life is full of lies, cheating, drugs, sex, and killing. And then he is hired to kill a girl who is different from all the others, and his bitterness is put to the test. Can she change him from the monster he is?

Bloody Valentine

The library doors were heavy and wooden. The railing leading up the perfectly carved steps was a metallic gold color. Inuyasha walked up the steps slowly, his shoulders hunched in the cold and his warm breath misting in the freezing air. The tips of his nose and ears were stinging in the cold, and he rushed through the doors, welcoming the heat of the library.

Around him were tall shelves that towered to the ceiling. Ladders were placed strategically and there was a set of stairs at the end of each bookcase that led to a second level of books. A large, wooden desk stood off to the right and a gray-haired woman with glasses sat at a tall chair, flipping through the pages of an old, worn book. Inuyasha snickered at the view of a typical librarian. She glanced up at him over the rims of her glasses and spoke in a cackle.

"May I help you, young man?" The woman's tone was so prideful and self-assured that Inuyasha couldn't help but feel the limits of authority. He grimaced. He hated authority.

"No thanks, granny," he replied with an independent tone in his voice that declared that he hated restrictions, and should anyone mess with him, he'll hurt them.

The woman's eyes widened and she leaned back in her chair, appalled.

"I beg your pardon!" she exclaimed.

"Well, you aren't getting a pardon, so go back to reading your book, gram," he snickered.

He continued to walk through the library, the librarian gaping at his back as he sulked off. He laughed softly under his breath, proud.

He knew exactly where he was going. He had come to this library innumerable times before, his motive to research background information on the people he had been hired to murder. The directory department. He took a seat at one of the computers where the search engine was already loaded up, and he typed in the name Kagome Higurashi. He smiled softly at the name in remembrance, but realizing that the slight upward tilt of his lips had appeared on his mouth, he instantly shook away the thoughts in his head. Still, his mind had still caught a few pictures of her from the summer nine years ago…

"Mommy!" the little Inuyasha screamed, tears streaming down his chubby cheeks. "Mommy I won't let them hurt you!" he yelled, but the form that he saw holding her arms out to him was only a mirage. His mother was already lying on the ground, molested, limp and lifeless, with a knife slit across her neck. He ran to the woman he was imagining, standing and waiting for him, but passed through what he finally realized was only his mother's ghost. The ghost turned at smiled sadly at his shocked face. Her skin was so pale, nearly white, and her body was faded and transparent. Her body also faded as it got nearer to the ground. Inuyasha finally realized that the woman in front of him was all that was left of the life in his mother. Her spirit held out her hand towards her son, and Inuyasha reached out to touch her hand, but his fingers merely passed through hers. Before the apparition disappeared, she mouthed the words "I love you," to her son.

Inuyasha finally laid eyes on his mothers body on the ground, and he turned to the men snickered above her. One of those men was his father, holding the knife. They seemed to have forgotten that Inuyasha was still there. His father picked up his mother's body by the feet and dragged her to the dock behind the warehouse where they had murdered her. The three other men followed.

Little Inuyasha glared after them. The tears flowing down his cheeks were salty on his lips, and filled with sadness mixed with anger. His fists clenched. His ears twitched softly, straining to hear the cold voices of the four men on the dock over the harsh winds of the ocean. He could vaguely see the figure of his father violently kick his mothers limp body towards the water.

"No," he breathed. He realized what they were doing and what they had done. "No!" he exclaimed, louder and stronger this time. He was filled with a fierceness that rivaled all other emotions inside of him. In that instant, what he wanted most was to see his father die right there. Somebody's life had to pay for his mother's death, and he knew that his father was the one who had killed her.

"Father!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, his eyes narrowed as he watched his father pause with his leg back, halfway through preparation for a final kick. The man turned and grinned, his cronies cracking their knuckles behind him.

"Inuyasha," his father tsked. "You should be in bed, now. It's late. Let me tuck you in." His father laughed a devilish, cruel laugh.

"You killed mom!" Inuyasha screamed, all logic gone from him. "You killed her!" He lunged at his father, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.

His father dodged out of the way and Inuyasha stumbled, confused at the fact that his fist did not come into contact with flesh. He fell to the ground, scraping his elbow against the wooden planks. He looked at his wound and saw more than three huge splinters launched into his elbow, blood all over. He bit his lip and held back the tears welling in his eyes.

"Your mother was weak. A weakling. She was a disgrace to the family name." He snickered and took a few steps towards his son, laying on the ground in pain.

"She wasn't weak! She protected me from you!"

"Yes. You are a hanyou. A half-breed. You will bring terror and misfortune to the family's mighty name. She showed her weakness as well by trying to protect you. She had to die. You must now, as well."

Inuyasha rose to his feet, shakily and unsteadily. Still, his anger was controlling his body. He made a lunge at he father, a yell accumulating from deep in his throat, and as he expected his father stepped to the right. Inuyasha grinned. He had found his father's weakness. Again he lunged, his yell now a scream of hatred. This time, however, he expected his father to step to the right and reached for him. Inuyasha twisted his body to the right as he expected his father to step in that direction. He was right. His father's eyes widened in surprise, his evil laughter dying down as Inuyasha made a final lunge and tore the bloody knife out of his father's hands.

"You will die for what you did to her!" Inuyasha screamed. His anger was now uncontrollable, a different person emerging from the heart that had been so innocent only a few hours before. With a disgust that is unseen in an eight-year-old, Inuyasha grabbed for his father's throat. Rain came splashing down from the heavens and Inuyasha hesitated, remember the words of his mother.

"The rain comes when God is sad. The rain is his tears." Inuyasha's tears grew heavier. His left hand gripped his father's throat tightly and he glanced over at his mother's lifeless body lying near to the choppy water. He knew he had to do this. He saw the bloody slice across his mother's throat. He saw the pool of blood she was lying in. He saw the three men that had helped kill her and molest her. He scowled. He wanted revenge, and he wanted it to be good.

"You will die the same death you gave her. Except you will be alone, Father," said Inuyasha. He took a step towards his father backing him towards the water. "You will be all alone. Look a your wife," Inuyasha said, for they were now standing beside her body. Inuyasha's hand was clenched around his throat still. "Look at the body of your wife, and the knife slit across her throat that you created. Now look at me. The son who will kill you. And you will die all alone." He grinned evilly at his father. Inuyasha still had tears streaming down his face, sadness at his mother's death. He winced at her body, then glared at his father. Now her held the knife against his father's throat.

"Say hello to hell for me," Inuyasha said. Then he gave his father a slit matching that of this mother. His father's blood splashed over his face, and he watched his fathers eyes widen in pain, staring into the eyes of his son, who had killed him. Inuyasha let go of his father's neck and fell to the ground, tears streaming down his face, watching his father's body as it fell into the choppy waters.

His tears masked his vision completely and he was blinded by the last of his rage. Within two minutes, three more bodies were fed to the sea, the bodies of his father's accomplices. Inuyasha had heard their screams. He had tried to stop his rage. But then he would briefly glance at his mother and would fall eager for another kill.

The hour after the final killing was a blur of tears and fading anger. The rage was replaced by an overwhelming sadness. He kneeled in the pool of blood surrounding his mother's body, and he rested his head against her cold, lifeless breast as he had for every night since he was born, yet those nights he had listened to her heart beat. This night, she was empty.

He sobbed all through the night and well into the morning. The sun rose over the docks, lighting the dark puddles of blood over the wooden planks and highlighting the whiteness of his mother's skin. First there was a purple light, then a red glow, then orange, and finally the yellow luminance of the sun in mid-morning.

"She wasn't weak," Inuyasha sobbed. "She was the strongest person I know." And he continued his sobs until his felt a hand on his back.

He jerked his head up and stopped sobbing in fright. He stood up and spun around to see a small girl looking at him sadly. Her hair was medium length, a raven black wave that highlighted her soft complexion. She wore a navy, cotton dress that reached her knees. Her shoes were shiny, black dress shoes that little girls used to coo over and wear to church and for holidays. He eyes were a deep, compassionate brown. Inuyasha was most captivated by her eyes. All of the words that she could speak to him were in her eyes. Inuyasha fell limp again and knelt in the blood. The little girl knelt next to him, wrapping her arms around him with the understanding of an eight-year-old, a understanding that surpassed words, that never ended. She held him for a long time before Inuyasha finally spoke.

"You're getting your pretty shoes dirty with blood," he said. The little girl looked at him with tears rolling down her cheeks. He knew she was sad that her favorite shoes were being destroyed, but she smiled softly anyway.

"That's okay," she said.

That's okay. Inuyasha started crying again at her kind, unselfish words. He finally looked up at her and smiled back. Then, they sat side by side again in silence. He looked at the little girl for a long time, and then took her hand in his, his cheeks blushing slightly in shyness. Kneeling in the blood of his mother, hand in hand, they cried together for a long time.

They heard sirens after nearly three hours. They were far in the distance, but before long they had sped through the alleyway leading to the docks and the drivers stepped hard on the breaks. Tires screeched as four cop cars and two ambulances came to a stop at the docks where Inuyasha and the little girl sat together. Cops came running out of the cars, two of them picking up the two solemn children in their arms and rushing them to one ambulance. Yet try as they may, the cops could not get the two eight year olds to part hands. The other two cops picked up the lifeless body of Inuyasha's mother and laid her on a stretcher which was loaded into the other ambulance, a white sheet covering her body that was immediately stained in her blood. Inuyasha screamed and kicked when he saw them taking his mother away.

"NO! DON'T TOUCH HER! DON'T TAKE HER!" He screamed. His voice echoed through the alley. It was a high, distressed, blood-curdling scream. The cop dropped him and reached for his ear in pain as Inuyasha ran towards his mother. Cops made grabs at him but to now avail. He rushed to his mother's side and pulled back the sheet. He looked at his mother's dead face, but smiled softly. He stood on his tip-toes, the men handling the stretcher stopping to watch as he pressed his lips of the cold, lifeless ones of his mother.

"Bye-bye, Mommy," he said and a single tear streamed down his cheek and dropped onto his mother's.

Then, he turned and ran back to the girl. Taking her hand again, he stepped into the ambulance with her. As medics fussed over them, they spared two slight smiles for each other.

"I'm Inuyasha," he said. He gave her hand a little squeeze.

"I'm Kagome," she said, and she, too, squeezed his hand in hers as well.

In the library, his fingers poised over the keyboard, Inuyasha stared at his reflection in the computer screen as a single tear rolled down his face and dripped onto the keyboard.

A/N: Wow. This was a hard chapter to write. SAD! Intense… Well, tell me what you all think. I'll probably be the only one who cried, though.


	4. Reentering a Nightmare

A/N: Thanks everyone for the encouraging reviews! I really hope that interest in my story grows!

Inuyasha is a merciless assassin who can never satisfy his lust for blood. His life is full of lies, cheating, drugs, sex, and killing. And then he is hired to kill a girl who is different from all the others, and his bitterness is put to the test. Can she change him from the monster he is?

Chapter 4:

His face hardened immediately after the shedding of that single tear. His hand curled into a fist and brought it down against the keyboard. The keys flew off in various different directions and the board was left with a permanent dent. No evidence was left of Inuyasha's tear as he stormed out of the library, the computer room attendant meekly chasing after him.

Once outside, he threw open the door of his car, climbing in and slumping down in the black upholstery. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves ineffectively, then inserted his keys, turned them to start the car, and slammed down on the gas petal. The tires of the Ferrari screeched as they searched for ground to cover. Within seconds Inuyasha was blocks away from the library.

He growled lowly his previous display of weakness. He was too strong to cry.

He found that his eyebrows had bunched together angrily. He remembered the way his mother had always told him to keep a happy face on because one day the wind might blow the wrong way so that the angry expression might be stuck there forever. He almost laughed, and a rare smile appeared on his face. Before even a second passed, however, it was replaced with a frown. Again, he was revealing his weakness. He refused to be happy.

He reached for his pocket with one hand, grabbing his cell phone and punching in the numbers that he had gone over so many times in his head for the last eight years. Yet, he had never pressed send. This time, he did. He spoke a few brief words to the person on the other line, and then hung up.

Before he knew where he was going, the tires of his Ferrari had turned into a long, dark alley. He looked around, driving slowly and taking in the angular graffiti on the cement walls. He knew this place. He knew it much too well.

The alley opened out, sunlight shining down with an unbelievable intensity compared to the depressing darkness of the alley. Inuyasha had preferred the alley, but this was the first time in his life that he had ever seen this area as bright as it was right now. It was the pier where his mother was slaughtered; the pier where he had become a killer.

He pulled his car to a halt just where the wooden planks of the dock began. Then, he turned off the engine, opened the door, threw the keys into his pocket, and slammed the door closed. He stopped for a moment, standing there with his body outlined by the intense sunlight of the late afternoon. Then, he took a deep breath and took one step forward.

His footsteps were slow and unsteady. They made hollow, creaking sound on the old wooden planks. He began to feel a dizzying sensation and toppled from one side to another like a drunk. He stopped for a moment and shook his head, then tried to walk steadily. Again, he felt his body tottering from side to side, each leaning motion drawing him nearer and nearer to falling into the ocean on either side of him. He tried to clear his mind, but realized in was clear. It felt as if her were a calm lake that had been overcome by a fog. He couldn't erase the dreamy feeling that had taken over his body and his brain. He continued to totter until he finally reached the end of the dock. He felt even dizzier as he looked down at the spot where his mother had lain dead nine years before.

He felt his body falling, dropping to the ground in a heap. It was then that he felt the wet numbness on his face. Tears were streaming uncontrollably down his perfect cheeks. He finally let out a loud awaited sob. He hadn't cried like this since that night. The thought of his mother caused more tears and more sobs, until his shoulders were shaking and his was breathing in gulps. He tried to calm himself, but he knew that this time he needed to cry. He looked up, tears streaming down his face, and screamed out into the wind.

"I hate you!" he screamed to his father, though he knew that no one was listening. "I hate you…" he said, softer this time, more to himself than to anyone else.

His past was the source of his weakness, he realized. His tears were dying down, but his sadness and anger were not. He knew that if he could finish the job he had undertaken, he would be free. If he could destroy the girl and destroy the memories along with her, he could forget that night eight years ago and finally be free. Still, he couldn't forget his mother's voice. He could forget her words, and the way she would sing him to sleep. He couldn't forget the way her fingers had lightly drawn circles on his skin when he would awake from nightmares, and she would soothe him back to sleep. He couldn't shake the memories of the way her hair would tickle his neck when she would lean down to kiss his little cheek, nor the way she always smelled of sakura blossoms. He could not forget the things that were most precious to him. But he would try.

Again the tears were pouring from his eyes like endless waterfalls. This time, he spoke again. Yet instead of his emotions being directed as his father, they were directed at himself.

"I hate you." His words were soft but filled with emotion. Just after he had spoken, he sensed a presence behind him. His back stiffens and his ears were pricked for sound, his nose attempting to trace a scent. The presence behind him made its way down the pier, soft footsteps on the wooden planks echoing in the air, until they stopped when they had reached his side.

"Inuyasha?" the voice asked. It belonged to a girl. The voice was soft and light and sweet. Inuyasha could have melted in that voice. He didn't try to hide his tears. He had heard the quivering in her voice as well. Instead, he looked up…

A/N: HAHA! SUSPENSE! Hey, after all, that is the genre of this story! Wanna find out what happens? REVIEW AND YOU'LL GET MORE!


	5. Lattes and Kisses

A/N: Words can't express how happy I am with all the wonderful reviews that I've been receiving! I'm so sorry I took so long! I didn't mean to torture you all! I just got writer's block and then my computer died and went to hell, and then it came back again. Yay!

Inuyasha is a merciless assassin who can never satisfy his lust for blood. His life is full of lies, cheating, drugs, sex, and killing. And then he is hired to kill a girl who is different from all the others, and his bitterness is put to the test. Can she change him from the monster he is?

Chapter 5

Those eyes were eyes that Inuyasha knew all too well; a voice he knew all too well. He gazed into the eyes of his mother. He let his burred eyesight soak in the appearance of his mother, the reality of her arm brushing his hardly reaching his brain. He couldn't comprehend what was occurring, but he didn't care. For the first time since the night his mother had been murdered, he allowed himself to become a child again. His tears flowed, held in for so many years, and he laid his head against his mother's shoulder, melting into her soft and loving embrace.

"Where did you go?" he asked her.

"You know where I went, my little Inuyasha. I've been keeping an eye on you."

"From heaven?" Inuyasha asked, looking into his mother's eyes. They, too, were moist with tears. Yet Inuyasha knew that those tears were dry with death.

"Yes, my little Inuyasha."

"Why did you go?" he asked, although they both knew the answer to that question.

"Some people," she began, looking into Inuyasha's eyes, "Some people are filled with hatred and callousness. Your father was one of those people. My son… I've been seeing so much of your father in you. I came because I'm dying all over again watching you turn into him."

"I have so much hate, mother. I only love you. I wanted to save you. I couldn't, mother. I couldn't save you."

"No one could have saved me, my little Inuyasha. Even if I lived, I would never be safe from your father."

"I would have protected you, mother. I'm sorry that I made one mistake. I promise I'll do better!"

"No, my Inuyasha." She shook her head. "You don't understand. We can't change the past, my little Inuyasha."

"I'm bigger now. I can save you, now." Inuyasha tears had disappeared and had been replaced with frustration. "I just need one more chance."

"No, Inuyasha. There are no more chances left for me this time. You still have chances, though. You need to love again, my baby. You need to be loved. Let her in."

Inuyasha looked up at his mother sharply. She saw the confusion in his eyes and smiled softly. He knew she had no more words left for him, and that he wouldn't see her again after this. Even in this fleeting instant, in the arms of the ghost of his mother, he felt like everything was right, but he knew that she was right. The past was far away, now. He couldn't change the past. His mother was dead, and she was just coming to say good-bye again.

"Don't leave yet," Inuyasha said softly, though he knew the answer was that she had to. She smiled one last smile at her son.

"I love you, my little Inuyasha. Good-bye."

He watched sadly as she faded, but when the apparition of his mother and faded into the air, there was another person in her place, with their arms around Inuyasha.

"Kagome?" he asked, seeing the older face of the little girl that had sat here with him those many years ago.

"Inuyasha. How are you?" she asked, pulling away and looking into his now dry eyes.

"Could be better." He grinned at her in a "that's life," way. He was confused at what had just happened, but realized while gazing at Kagome that he had just seen his mother in her. He was shocked at how alike they looked. They both had the same beautiful smile and the same deep, loving eyes that could see through anything. They had the same soft features. He gazed into Kagome's eyes in a way that he only had for when he looked at her. Even when they were little children, they had shared the special relationship that only two innocent kids could share. A relationship with no bounds and no secrets. Somehow, that was still there after all these years. Their eyes spoke enough words that they didn't have to say anything for a while.

"Were you talking to your mother?" Kagome finally asked.

Inuyasha looked at her, confused by her question.

"You were talking, and I was here, but you weren't talking to me…" Kagome looked into his eyes, letting him know that she understood.

"Why did you ask me here?" Kagome asked. "After all of these years, you called me today."

"I've been thinking about you a lot, thinking about my mother. It will be ten years soon. A decade. I guess that's why."

"I understand," Kagome said, kindly.

"Can I get you a coffee or something?" Inuyasha asked, turning on the charm.

"Sure," Kagome replied, giggling and standing up. Inuyasha realized that her laugh was different form all of the other girls. It was genuine.

"My car's over there. Did you walk here?" Inuyasha asked her.

"Yeah. Nice car!" Kagome exclaimed. She skipped to the passenger door, running her index figure over the black exterior. Inuyasha pulled his keys out of his pocket and clicked the button to open the door. Kagome jumped in and settled into the, once again, black _interior._

"Cool! I'm not used to luxury like this!" Kagome explained, smoothing her hands over the leather.

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked, raising an eyebrow and cocking his head at Kagome. He started driving towards the café.

"Well, my father kinda left my mom about six years ago. Ever since then, things have been really rough. It's hard for my mom, you know, raising me and my little brother on her own. So we can have a lot of the things that other kids have. I get a lot of my clothes from the Salvation Army, and I cant really ever go to the mall to shop or anything."

She spoke comfortable and freely, not minding that she seemed to be sharing quite personal information with Inuyasha. Seeing his puzzled and surprised expression, she spoke again.

"It doesn't really bother me. I have a fun life. My mom is really nice, and me and her are really close. My little brother is a goof, and he always makes me laugh until my sides hurt. I have friends, and I'm pretty popular. I have fun, you know?"

Inuyasha was taken aback. His entire life was focused around making money and spending it, and he enjoyed material things a lot, yet Kagome seemed to see past all that. She was happy with the little things that she had, like friendships, despite her lack of material belongings. He reached for her hand, attracted to her outgoing, free-willed personality. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes as he clasped his hand on hers. She looked shocked at first, and he eyes widened slightly, but a second later her lips formed a peaceful smile that made even Inuyasha grin. Quickly, though, he replaced it with the usual cold gaze, remembering why he was in the Ferrari with Kagome, remembering that this was his job.

"Here's the place," Inuyasha said, pulling up to a busy little café on the corner of a busy street. Inside, however, the café looked peaceful and comfortable inside, and it was.

As soon as they sat down on one of the couch, Inuyasha holding a coffee with no milk or sugar, Kagome cupping a hazelnut latte, she started talking animatedly. Inuyasha grinned, despite himself. Damn, this girl could talk!

She took a little sip of her latte, then set it down lightly on the table and pulled her legs up onto the couch, sitting cross-legged. Inuyasha saw that despite her "Salvation Army" clothes, she had amazing fashion sense and looked just as beautiful as she would were she wearing some Abercrombie outfit. She stopped her jabber (something about some prank her brother pulled that morning involving a toilet and a rubber duckee) and gazed at him.

"Why did you want to see me? After all these years?" her voice was serious and concerned. She was remembering the night they met.

"I've thought about you every day since that night, Kagome," Inuyasha began. He acted his job in that instant. He hated lying to her. He hated what he was going to do for her in the future. He hated the thought of killing her. But he loved the idea of the money and of life too much. He didn't let his inner conflict show, and suddenly he realized that he wasn't lying to her. He was speaking. Really speaking. "I think about you every night before I fall asleep and every morning when I wake up. I remembered you as a child, and then pictured you, as you would look now. And here you are, here with me, close enough for me to…" He stopped, and she looked at him questioningly.

"Close enough for you to..?" she encouraged.

"Close enough for me to… kiss you…" he whispered. And then, he did.

A/N: Don't kill me! I know its short and kinda out of character for Inuyasha and especially for the character he's supposed to be in this fic, but I needed to end it with somethin cuz my little sis is bugging me to let her on the computer. Trust me, he won't be so OOC in the next chapter. SORRY! REVIEWWWWW!


	6. Fawns and Stalkers

A/N: Okay, well since the last chapter was so short, I've decided to update as soon as possible. I'm off from school for a week, and I would be hanging out with my friends because come Monday, I'm off to Jamaica for a vacation (WOOHOO!), but I am unfortunately sick and therefore confined to my own home in hopes of my recovery before vacation. So, I can't update for a week after this. Sorry everyone! Just hang in there!

BTW: Kayla, yes your constant nagging did get me to my computer to update, so BIG THANK YOU!

Inuyasha is a merciless assassin who can never satisfy his lust for blood. His life is full of lies, cheating, drugs, sex, and killing. And then he is hired to kill a girl who is different from all the others, and his bitterness is put to the test. Can she change him from the monster he is?

Chapter 6:

It was short and sweet. He could taste her cherry flavored lip-gloss as he licked her lips for entry. Inuyasha reached forward and cupped her shin while they kissed. He felt the vibrations of a moan from deep within her throat, though he could also sense her shock at the sudden kiss. Still, he could also sense her happiness at his sudden act. He felt a feeling well from deep within her that was kept inside for a long time, or so it seemed. Passion. Yet within a few short seconds the blissful kiss was over. Inuyasha still couldn't just forget that he was with this girl so he could kill her.

When they pulled apart, only a few inches, with Inuyasha leaning over the table, he then spotted a large bruise on her left shoulder where her shirt had slid down slightly. He moved his hand down from her chin and ran his fingers to her shoulder, lightly fingering the bruise. His brow furrowed with concern and confusion, a mix of genuine and feigned emotions. His acting was constant, as his job required, but for the first time in his life he was faced with an internal conflict that threatened his motives as an assasin. This girl had been there for him when his mother was killed. This girl had been his first real friend, if only for a few hours. And he could not deny the feelings he had for her, not to himself or to anyone else. He found his fake concern being edged away by the genuine concern, until he was finally stripped down. The shield he constantly held up around him was slipping away. He was letting Kagome have a glimpse of the real him. The him that was there eight years ago before he killed his father.

He tilted his head slightly, in question. She looked away, her eyes revealing shame and sadness.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked.

Immediately, as if his voice had hit a switch, she covered her face with her hands and broke into sobs. Inuyasha could sense heads turning as he tried to console her, slipping her sleeve back onto her shoulder to avoid any types of suspicion from the other people in the café.

"Hey, it's okay," he cooed, trying his best to comfort her as her put his arms around her. But she didn't stop sobbing; couldn't stop. He stood up, still holding her in his arms, and led her to the door. She walked in a sluggish way, as if her legs had become elastic. She leaned into him and sobbed into his shoulder as he helped her into the Ferrari. Then, he drove her to the only place that he could think of at the time. It was the place he always went when he needed to feel some sort of peace. He had not shared this spot with anyone, and was extremely territorial of it, as if he owned it. To him, it was his own private property.

He pulled the Ferrari up to the house in which he was staying. He had not even shown this house to anyone. Kagome looked surprised, realizing that it was abandoned and dilapidated. He stepped out of the car, headed over to Kagome's side, helped her out, and then led her behind the house.

Kagome's look of confusion deepened as he led her around the house. It softened her crying until she was no longer sobbing audibly. Her tears streamed more slowly and if Inuyasha hadn't been looking at her every few seconds to read her facial expression, the only clue that she was crying was the occasional sniffle.

She looked to the back door, expecting him to lead her there. Yet Inuyasha knew that he never felt comfortable in the house. It was a safe place for him to hide himself, but it was filled with a negative energy that nearly suffocated him. The place he was leading her was in the forest behind his house. The forest reached nearly ten square miles and was filled with deep, tall, green pines and maple trees with lush green leaves that always fell late in the fall and returned earlier than trees normally do. At night the crickets whisper to one another and in the morning the birds sing to the world around them. Often, Inuyasha found himself being awakened by those birds, lying on the mossy ground of the forest. He could hardly ever sleep in the dreary basement in which he lived, and sometimes his feet just led him to the spot, where he leaned against the soft, moss covered bark of a tree and let the brook running alongside set him asleep. The brook was about four feet wide, getting thinner or wider in certain spots, and about a foot deep, getting to be a few inches or even three feet in other areas. It was clear and fresh. It trickled softly, making a soft sound but somehow not breaking the silence of the depth of the forest. As he thought about that spot, the one place he felt whole and pure. There, by the brook, it seemed as if everything else was just being washed away.

But as his mind brought him there, so did his feet. He led Kagome through the forest until there they were, and he was helping her lean against his moss covered tree, and he was dipping his hands in the fresh, icy water and lightly wetting her forehead. Before long, Kagome's soft crying had stopped and she was looking around, her eyes bright once more. Yet now Inuyasha could see something behind her curious awe at the beautiful forest around her. There was a type of anxiety that was peeking at him from behind her golden-brown iris. Yet she didn't speak; couldn't speak. Now that she had stopped crying Inuyasha's comforting had died down with his whispers of "It's okay," and "Calm down, Kagome, I'm here." An hour before, Kagome had been outgoing, bubbly, and effervescent. Now, it was the quiet and withdrawn Inuyasha that spoke first.

"After my mother died, I started sleep-walking. I've done research since then; it's sometimes stress-induced. I was traumatized after the death of her, after mur-" Inuyasha stopped, afraid. He had never spoken about that night, except to whisper responses to the questions of the police. Yet he wanted to talk now. He needed to. "After murdering my father in her defense," he sputtered. It felt better to get it out, despite the frightened and confused look on Kagome's face. Yet after she saw the pained look that had somehow crept across his face, her expression softened with understanding. She saw what he had done to his mother. She could understand his reaction to her death was to attack the man who killed her. He continued speaking.

"One night, I woke up here. I had been staying with an old woman that had been my neighbor for my entire childhood. She had always taken me under her wing whenever I needed somewhere to stay. My parents trusted her, or at least my mother did. My father never really cared. Her name was Kaede. The police took me to her and she became my guardian. The first night I stayed with her, I thought I'd finally be able to rest without the dangerous sleep walking. I was wrong. Yet when I woke up here, I felt neither horror nor regret. I felt peace. That's why I brought you here. I wanted to… share a part of that peace with you. I woke up right where you are sitting now. The birds were singing and the sun was peeking out from the lush canopy of the trees, shining on me until my eyes flickered open. I didn't want to leave. And so I sat there, the sun warming my whole body until it traveled over and lit up a patch of grass across the brook. I must have dozed off again for a few minutes, because when I woke up there was a fawn there, silent as the night. She was drinking from the cool water of the brook, and I could feel her eyes on me, watching me. She was hesitant of me and afraid to relax with me watching. I didn't move. I just watched her, smiling softly. She added to the peace. And then I realized that she was too young to be without her mother. I looked around, trying to find the mother deer, but my movement frightened the fawn and she bounded off. I stayed for a few more minutes, and then realized that the fawn was like me. She was all alone. And then I reluctantly got up and wandered until I found a road and made my way back to Kaede. Sometimes, when I can't sleep, I come here. And I always feel that same peace."

Kagome was smiling. Her eyes weren't as frightened or anxious as before. She was calmer.

"You're a poet," she said, giggling and crawling over to me. She now had a sultry look in her eyes that made me a little bit nervous.

"Nah," I said, reaching for the back of my head. I realized how out of character I must have sounded. I felt fake, like I was worthless for somehow being something I'm not. I didn't want her to think that I was a good person, when I was the one who was supposed to kill her. Yet I knew that somehow, this was the real me. This place brought out the real person that was deep inside of me. I looked at her, an eager, sultry, passion in her eyes, and then I smiled. It was a real smile. A true, genuine smile. It was the first real smile I had ever given to anyone since the last time I smiled at her, eight years ago. And now, here I was giving her that same true smile.

It seemed to happen slowly, as she tilted her head to the side and leaned closer and closer to me. Her eyes closed and her lashes tickled her soft, porcelain cheeks and I felt my eyes closing, as well, and then our lips met. The bird's song died away and all I knew was she. My arms wrapped themselves around her small body and slid slowly down her back until I stopped out of respect for her. Yet her kiss became more eager and more passionate. She arched her back as my tongue explored her mouth, taking on a mind of its own. I kissed her with a passion I had never shared with anyone. Her hands moved up and rested on my chest while my hands moved lower and lower until she moved onto my lap, straddling me, and therefore my hands were resting on her cute, round ass by her own accord. We kissed and kissed, and her body started swaying against mine, her pelvis pressing against mine until I felt myself perk up even more than before. Out of embarrassment, I moved her off of me, not breaking our kiss, but while doing so I fell over and she moved herself on top of me. I felt my embarrassment edging away and soon my hands were moving all over her body. She moaned, softly, and then with increasing intensity. I moved my lips down to her neck while she kept swaying and moaning. My lips moved downward until they reached the low neck of her shirt, and in one swift movement and pulled her shirt neck down only one-inch, no lower. I know where to stop. And yet my lips found the soft flesh of her breast, just for a second. I did not want to break a boundary. I slid her shirt back up and moved my lips back to hers, moaned softly, and then broke the kiss.

When we pulled apart, we were both breathing heavily with passion, our lips swollen softly from the kiss. I leaned my head back onto the mossy ground, breathing heavily and she leaned her head on my chest, cuddling up to me. It that moment, everything else faded away. This moment was perfect. I had never felt perfection until then.

But the perfection had to end. Kagome was ready to talk.

"There's this boy. He says he loves me, but He never leaves me alone. I want nothing to do with him.I'm sometimes afraid that he's there when I sleep, watching me. Wanting me. And I can't breathe. My head tries to tell me it's all right, but my body breaks into this cold sweat. Whenever the phone rings, I know it's him. When I pick up, he never introduces himself. He just says my name in this way that scares me, and I hang up. He's always asking me to go out with him, but I don't feel safe with him. Yesterday," she said, a tear creeping down her cheek, "he didn't react well to me saying no." She softly places a hand over the bruise I had seen earlier. "I can never tell when he's watching me. I'm never save. He sends me letters that threaten me, threaten my family. And he says that he'll always be watching me… He stalks me and I am afraid for my life. And for my family."

I reach for the hem of her shirt, frightened for what I may find as I slide it up over her head. I lay in gently on the ground and look back at her. There is the bruise on her shoulder, a clear bruise of a hand mark on her wrist, and a huge, black and blue gash below her left breast.

"He did all of this?" I ask.

She shakes her head. "I don't know. Sometimes I wake up from bed and there's a new bruise." Her tears are streaming now, and she's choking out sobs of uncontrollable grief and fear. I feel horrible for taking her shirt off, for exposing her. I slide it back over her head and hold her close to me, stroking her hair. She clings to me and I hold her tightly. I don't ever want to let go.

A/N: Well, I've decided that I will end here for now. A little sort of cliff hanger. OoOoOH! What will happen next? HMMM… Only I can know! MWAHAHAHA! I promise I'll update as soon as I get back (read the A/N at the beginning of the chapter if you are confused). BUT ONLY IF YOU ALL REVIEW AND SPREAD THE WORD ABOT MY STORY! WOOHOO!


	7. Violence and Love

A/N: Well, I found out that I'm a gypsy! That's right, my entire family on my father's side are gypsies, and therefore I have gypsy blood. Anyway, I figured that I'd proclaim my gypsy heritage. I went to school dressed like a gypsy and danced around the school. Eventually, my clumsiness caught up with me. I broke my ankle! Lol, just my luck! Anyway, I'm in major pain right now, but I decided I'd update for you guys!

Inuyasha is a merciless assassin who can never satisfy his lust for blood. His life is full of lies, cheating, drugs, sex, and killing. And then he is hired to kill a girl who is different from all the others, and his bitterness is put to the test. Can she change him from the monster he is?

Chapter 7:

"Show me who he is and I swear to you I will kill him!" Inuyasha's fury exploded as he held Kagome, mounting higher and higher until he couldn't control his anger. He slowly untangled Kagome's body from his own and stood up in a fiery rage. He paced back and forth beside the brook, the peaceful atmosphere doing absolutely nothing to calm him. He kicked and spat at the ground, splashed an angry hand through the water, and tore at his hair. He felt an overwhelming need to protect Kagome, the girl that had suddenly gotten him to open up. And under his protectiveness was the constant voice reminding him of his weakness, forcing him to keep hiding his emotions whenever he felt his shield edging away. The voice that kept reminding him that he was supposed to kill her.

"I don't want to get you involved. I don't know how dangerous he is, Inuyasha! I don't want you getting hurt."

Her voice sparked something horrible inside of his. With a shriek of anger, he raced towards her and grabbed her by her shoulders, his nails digging into her soft flesh. He ignored her flinch of pain and the soft, pitiful cry that escaped her lips. He shook her violently, her hair flying around her face, her eyes full of fear.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? ARE YOU JUST GOING TO LET HIM KEEP HURTING YOU? ARE YOU GOING TO LET IT GET WORSE AND WORSE UNTIL HE KILLS YOU ONE DAY? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE WAITING FOR? YOU-" and suddenly his rage was cut off by her sobs of pain and fear. He slowly released her from his violent grip, backing away and shaking his head in regret. He watched with horror as drops of blood began to grow from the places where he had dug his nails into her flesh. He looked from her eyes to her lips to the blood and her hand gripping her shoulder in pain, and then he remembered the bruise.

"Oh my God… Oh my God…" he murmured over and over again, shaking his head harder. Kagome looked down, tears streaming down her face. Her lips quivered and she bit her bottom lip softly, expressing her pain and feelings of betrayal. Inuyasha took three quick steps towards her, his arms outstretched to embrace her, but she stepped back quickly. She wrapped her arms around her self and cowered away from him.

"Kagome, I-" he began to speak, trying to send the words welling inside of his heart out through his mouth. But she held up a hand to stop him, and he drew back in horror as her hurt suddenly turned into anger and she raced at him. He took a step back, bracing himself as he watched her as if her actions were in slow motion. She first clenched her fists, her feet pushing off the ground as she leapt at him, and her mouth opened to form a shriek of anger as her body made contact with his. And then she was punching his chest, her fists making contact with his firm body, then drawing back to hit him again and again and again. And then, after about fifteen hits, she shrunk back and fell to the ground, sobbing hysterically.

Inuyasha slowly sat beside her, his heart taking over his mind, and wrapped his arms around her carefully. And then she was kissing him, passion emerging from her lips to his and his arms were holding her tightly against his body and her hands were pressing on either side of his face and she was pressing her body against his. And then his lips were on her neck, and the on the wounds that he had made on her arms, licking away the blood and kissing the wounds and then his lips found their way back to hers and more time passed than Inuyasha could keep track of until they pulled apart, holding on to one another as if they would die if they let go.

"I'm sorry Kagome. I'm sorry… sorry… sorry," his lips kept muttering the word over and over until she pressed a finger against his lips to silence him and then she smiled at him, saying all she needed to say, understanding that what he had done was out of desperation and frustration.

"I think…" Kagome began, smiling, but then her voice faded away. Yet her soft smile was still there.

"What?" Inuyasha asked, grinning. Kagome fell on top of him playfully, giggling, not knowing how much of a turn-on her flirting was to him. "What?" he asked again, a soft laugh escaping his lips.

"I think I…" she added one other word to her sentence, playing with Inuyasha. Her fingers trickled down his stomach to the belt of his pants and she played, flirting, with the button.

"C'mon, spit it out Kagome," Inuyasha said, breathing heavily from the turn-on of her actions. "I'm not good with suspense," he said, grinning. "Sometimes I… get… a little… CRAZY!" he yelled.

Kagome screamed and laughed as he turned her over and straddled her, tickling her sides and then her stomach and then her neck, and she giggling and kicked about, begging for mercy. Then, his lips took the place of his hands, exploring her body and tickling her neck, then nipping her ear playfully. They rolled around and kissed and explored one anothers' bodies until Kagome spoke out what she was teasing Inuyasha with a few minutes before.

"I think I love you!" she exclaimed, stopping him dead in his tracks, his lips two inches below her belly button.

He looked up at her, his eyes meeting hers in a shocking gaze. Then, a genuine smile grew on his face and he moved his lips up to hers and they continued kissing and rolling around. Their worlds only contained one another, not paying attention to their surroundings until they reached the end of the forest ground and dropped one foot into the brook, the water engulfing them as Kagome shrieked with laughter.

Inuyasha soon found himself laughing too as they continued kissing each other in the cold, icy, brook water. And then he sat up in the foot-deep water, and brought Kagome into his lap.

Her words froze him even more than the icy water of the brook:

"Do you love me, too?"

A/N: Oh boy, how is he gonna answer this? I was planning on making the chapter a lot longer, but then I didn't because I think this makes a pretty good cliffhanger. I'll only update if I get REVIEWS! C'mon people, good or bad, lol! Have mercy on my, I'm crippled with a broken ankle!


	8. Real

A/N: I feel like popularity in my story has been diminishing! For the past few chapters, I haven't been getting as quick, enthusiastic, or numerous results. Keep reading people! Don't loose faith in me! Please?

Inuyasha is a merciless assassin who can never satisfy his lust for blood. His life is full of lies, cheating, drugs, sex, and killing. And then he is hired to kill a girl who is different from all the others, and his bitterness is put to the test. Can she change him from the monster he is?

Chapter 8:

He looked deep into her brown eyes, the deep, dark eyes that were dark like the deepest part of an ocean. He remembered the night that seemed so long ago now, but was only last night. February 14, Valentines Day, the night he had killed Kikyou after three weeks of pretending. Three weeks of lying to her, leading her on until just the right moment when she trusted him so deeply that his betrayal, his murder would hurt her more than anything. The night when she had completely exposed her feelings of love for him. So many girls had fallen for him the same way, only to die by the thorns of the black rose. And now he was expected to destroy Kagome, as well. To kill the only person who had seen the real him. With Kikyou, he hadn't even thought twice about his motives. Now, with Kagome, he had forgotten them completely.

"I…" The words wanted to roll off his tongue so badly. Was it is heart? Or was it the nagging voice inside of his head that refused to cease reminding him that he was supposed to be leading her on, faking with her, with the motive to kill her in time. And then he was suddenly seeing her when she was a child, holding her hand as if for dear life while they cried together, him crying over the death of his mother, her crying over his pain. Her selflessness, her loveliness, and her friendship had captivated him then as it was doing now. And his head was screaming at him, telling him to tell her the truth. And then suddenly the words escaped his lips like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon.

"I love you, too."

More tears emerging from Kagome's eyes, tears of joy and relief. Inuyasha's hand flying to her face to stroke the tears off of her cheek. His genuine smile, and then his sudden yelp.

"I can't do it…" he mumbled. He shook his head, gripping his temples as if in pain. "I can't do it," he muttered again.

"What?" Kagome asked, innocently. "What can't you do?" she questioned, reaching up to stroke his face.

"It's nothing," he said, smiling hesitantly and reaching up the press his hand against hers. "Nothing," he muttered again, this time to himself. And then he leaned in and kissed her. He kissed her with a passion that flooded with relief. For the first time in his life since his mother's death, there was no more pretending. No more lying, fighting faking, killing. Everything was suddenly real. His heart thumping with passion and flooding through his body, to his lips, his tongue, his hands, his entire body. Her body against his was real, and then, suddenly, her naked stomach on his, her hands pressed against his bare chest, their wet bodies grinding, wet jeans clinging to their legs, wet shirts on the ground beside them. Inuyasha looked at her half-naked body on top of him, and his mind kept saying "this is real, this is right, this is real." He was taking in her thin waist, flat, smooth stomach, and soft, beautiful breasts. Her lacy black bra suddenly seemed so annoying, like a barrier than he couldn't overcome. He never broke the kiss, but then could feel her eyes on him, her hands running over his nipples, then down his stomach to his rippling, built ab muscles. And then she was fingering the dark hair running up to his belly button, and then his fingers fumbled down her body to her smooth stomach.

"This is real, this is right, this is real," said his mind.

And then the real sound of his cell phone ringing.

"Ah, shit," Inuyasha muttered as he and Kagome untangled themselves from one another. Inuyasha fumbled for his cell phone, searching through his left pocket, shaken up by the passion of the kiss. Not finding the phone in his left pocket he went to search through the right one, but Kagome was a step ahead. She reached into his pocket, pulled out the phone, and handed it to him with a soft smile.

He flipped open the phone just as Kagome laid a short, passionate kiss quickly on his mouth before he answered.

"Hello?" he answered, his breath heavy. He couldn't hear who it was because at that moment, Kagome kissed him again and he pulled the phone away quickly. Then she was playing with the button of his jeans again while the voice of the person on the other line was talking in a far away voice.

"Hey, Kagome, hang on a sec," he said, pushing her away regretfully. He stood up and walked away a few paces. Kagome stood up to follow him, walking behind him slowly and questioningly.

"Hello?" Inuyasha asked again. "Sorry, I was in the middle of som-" and then his voice stopped short. Kagome watched the color drain from his face and his golden-brown eyes widened in shock. Yet he quickly regained his composure, or as much as he could at least, and returned to his conversation with the person on the phone.

"Hang on a second," he spoke into the phone. "Let me call you back, okay? Yeah. Okay." Then he flipped his phone closed at looked at Kagome with a frightened smile.

"Back to reality, he said. He put a hand on her shoulder as he was walking towards his shirt on the forest floor. Then, he kissed her, a deep, tasteful quick kiss full of eager passion, and then he leaned down, picked up his shirt, and pulled it over his head.

Kagome was looking at him questioningly, confused.

"Who…?" she began, sliding her hands up under his shirt, not willing to let him go just yet, wanting more just like he did.

"Don't… don't worry about it," Inuyasha said, his voice quavering as he felt the dropping, crazy feeling in his abdomen as she fumbled with the zipper of his jeans.

And then his shirt was up and over his head again, and his strong arms were throwing it to the side, and then he was holding Kagome in his arms and she gave up with his zipper and just lost herself in the passion of his kiss.

They eventually found themselves on the ground again, Inuyasha leaning up against the tree, Kagome straddling him, their bodies grinding as they kissed. Just as Inuyasha reached up her back to unsnap her bra, his phone was ringing again.

"Oh, fuck," Inuyasha said, pushing Kagome back again, just a little. She reached for his phone again and handed it to him, her eyes saying "not again!" in a playful, not-really-annoyed way.

But Inuyasha's smile disappeared at the angry voice screaming on the other end.

"KILL HER!" and then, "I'm watching you." Then the line went dean.

A/N: It's kinda weird... my writing is sometimes formatted weirdly when I get realy sucked into the story. Like, I do lots of run-on sentences and sentence fragments. Sorry if my writing gets confusing at somepoints. Short, again, I know I know, but hey, my last update was yesterday so you should be grateful… I hope imagines an angry mob chasing with pitchforks and large fruits. OH CRAP! Cowers in a corner. JUST REVIEW FOR ME! PLEASE!


	9. Forgiven

A/N: I feel like I'm on a roll! I wanna write write write! Three updates in three days! I feel good (even if the chapters were really short). This one will be longer.

Inuyasha is a merciless assassin who can never satisfy his lust for blood. His life is full of lies, cheating, drugs, sex, and killing. And then he is hired to kill a girl who is different from all the others, and his bitterness is put to the test. Can she change him from the monster he is?

Chapter 9

"KILL HER! I'm watching you." The cold, angry voice was ringing in Inuyasha's ears, haunting him. Each time he heard the words "KILL HER," he felt as if someone were stabbing him repeatedly in the gut.

His eyes wandered over to Kagome, feeling her eyes on his. Both her large, brown eyes and his golden-brown ones were wide with shock, fright, and confusion. Yet there was something else in Kagome's. Hurt? Betrayal?

Inuyasha shook his head in horror and disbelief. He pressed two fingers on either hand on his temples and tried to take deep, calming breaths, attempting to calm himself enough to figure out what to tell Kagome. There was no doubt that she had heard those horrible words. "KILL HER!" The person on the other line had screamed them so loud, popping Inuyasha's eardrums and sending him rolling into a state of dizzy shock. Perhaps the speaker had intended for Kagome to hear. 'Yes,' Inuyasha thought. 'He wanted her to hear…'

He turned away from Kagome, avoiding her questioning gaze, and hurled into the water. He watched, sickened, as the contents of his stomach floated away with the rippling water of the brook. Then, Kagome was by his side, rubbing his hunched back as he continued to get sick two more times. She leaned down next to him, murmuring in his ear, kissing his neck, and holding his long silver hair back until he stood up again, splashed the cool water on his face, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Kagome…" he whispered, softly, the love in his voice wrapping around her and pulling her close to him. She pressed her body against his, lightly, her hands on his chest as she looked up into his eyes. She was searching, Inuyasha could tell. Searching for answers, for any sign that Inuyasha was hiding something from her. He shielded his emotions without even trying, after years of doing so. She turned away from him and looked down.

"Sit down, Kagome," Inuyasha ordered softly. He took her arms gently and brought her down to the mossy ground beside him. "I want to tell you… everything."

She looked up at him jerkily, her eyes suddenly hard, realizing that he was keeping something from her. But at the side of his sad expression, her gaze became understanding and she brought a hand up to brush a long, silver strand of hair out of his eyes. As she was doing so, he gripped her hand lightly in his and kissed it gently.

"My father was a horrible man, Kag. He did things to me and my mother that a lot of people could never imagine. He ran drug deals, assassinations, thefts, and other illegal participation. He owned more guns than I could keep track of, and had an almost sickly obsession with swords, blades, and other sharp objects of violence. He abused my mother and I. More so my mother. When I saw the bruises on your lovely body… I thought of the bruises that were painted all over my mother's body by my father's hand. He was a bit of a mobster, I guess. Him and his cronies would come home, drunk, from strip joints or a "job" of some sort, and they would all beat my mother. Sometimes I would cower in a corner, covering my eyes but peeking out between my fingers with a sick curiosity. Other times I tried to stop them, begged, and my father hated that. He was always telling my mother and I that we were weak. He made strength sound like you had to be a murderer or a mobster, and then you would be strong. My mother always said that my father was strong in a lot of ways, especially his pride, but that she thought I was even stronger for standing up to him to protect her. My father called that weakness. Other times when my father and his group were hurting my mother, my father would grab me out of the shadows and throw me down on the floor next to her while they hurt us both. Other times, he made me watch while they raped her. Kagome gasped horribly at this and her hand flew to her mouth. Inuyasha continued. "Other times, they forced me to hit her, too. I never did, but they would grab my arm and force me to hit her, their strength dragging my arm down onto her soft, bruised flesh, then back up, and then down again." Inuyasha paused for a breath and a pathetic sob escaped his lips, but then he continued. "The night I met you, my father and his friends went all the way. I watched them drag her from the house, kicked her, punching her, whipping her while she kicked and struggled against them. I chased them in vain while they dragged her to my father's black limo and threw her inside. Her blood left a dark red trail to the car door, then drenched the leather interior, and I remember getting sick all over the place while I tried to stop them, but then the took of in the car. I ran. I ran as fast as a toddler could with that much adrenaline in his body as a need to save his mother. Somehow I found them, standing over her blood-drenched body at the pier. And I went crazy. I screamed and fought and tried so hard to save her, but she was already dead when I found them. And then I killed my father."

'And you will die alone. Say hello to hell for me.' Inuyasha's own childish voice came floating back to him, trickling all over his body like the cold water of the brook, yet less refreshing.

"I remember I said 'Say hello to hell for me.'" Inuyasha laughed heartlessly, a sad, hollow laugh of pain. "I killed him and I killed all of his friends who had helped murder my mother. And then I cried and cried by her side, over her dead body until you came."

"I remember…" Kagome said softly, looking down. She leaned her head on Inuyasha's lap, took his had and kissed it twice, holding in to her soft lips in comfort.

"But what you wouldn't know is that despite the fact that I had murdered them in my mother's defense… when I look down at my hands, the hands that murder then all… I want to die. I want to kill myself. And then… for some reason I always used to see your face. I used to stay around, just so that maybe I could see you again, the only person who can ever understand me… because you were there. There for me. I drew a picture of you once… I think about four years ago. I drew a picture of what I thought you would look like then, older and more mature… not cute anymore, like a little child. Beautiful… like you are now." Kagome smiled gently. A happy smile, yet sad at the same time.

"I stayed with this kind old woman for a while… but I ran away before even a month had passed with her. I was changed now. A child can't go back to playing with little cars and crayons when he saw his mother die and killed four men."

He looked at Kagome's face now. Now was the moment that he had to say the most horrible thing he could say out loud. The one thing he never had said out loud. She looked curious and sad, but not angry with him. Not hateful. She looked loving.

"I was filled with an uncontrollable anger… a need for revenge at the world. Revenge at anyone who was happy, could lead a happy life. People who worried about things like the stock market. I wanted them all to die. I wanted to kill them. I…"

Kagome kissed his hand again in encouragement.

"I became an assassin."

The gentle look in her eyes vanished. Now it was replaced with fear. She shot out of his lap and stood up, backing away from him, shaking her head in horror and disbelief. She stumbled and fell backwards, then crawled away, her arms fumbling to carry her away from him, but he gripped her ankle. She screamed out, a yip-like, horrified shriek.

"I've killed more than just those four men, Kagome. I kill for money. To live. To release my anger. I've never loved. Never let myself. And then I was hired to kill… you…" She screamed, a bloodcurdling, horrified, deathly scream that made Inuyasha's blood run cold. He reached for her other ankle as she kicked and struggled to try to get away. "Listen Kagome! Listen! Listen to me! I can't do it! That's what I was talking about! I can't kill you… I…" his voice faded away as he saw that her fear was not diminishing. He let go of her ankles with a sob. And then the tears were flowing, harder than they ever had in his life. His shoulders were heaving as he gasped for breath. He didn't know how long it was that he sobbed, but he could feel Kagome's eyes, five feet away, burning into him. Then he viciously wiped his eyes and turned to look at her.

"I never planned on it… never thought It could happen. But you're different. I can't do it because… I fell in love with you. Maybe I have been in love with you since so many years ago at the docks. I think… maybe… maybe I have. I can't kill you… won't kill you… because I love you."

Her voice was softer, now. He could hear the love, still there. He took a deep, much needed breath. Her voice was softer when she spoke.

"How do I know you don't say this to everyone. How can I tell it's true? How can I tell you aren't lying, faking, acting… conning?" She asked, still scared but softening.

Inuyasha spoke, for the second time since he had told he loved her, directly from his heart, and from no where else. He mind couldn't even process what he was saying… his mouth was just speaking.

"Because I've never told anyone else that I loved them. Because I've never felt so real in my life. I've never kissed anyone like I just kissed you. And no one as ever made my stomach feel like God is pulling my skin tight. And because I've never looked into their eyes the way I look into yours and feel like I'm melting… melting… And because I love you… I just… love… you."

Kagome was silent, but her eyes never left Inuyasha's. Her eyes never looked away from his through his whole speech. Neither she nor he blinked once. And then she crawled over to him, slowly, taking his hands and placing them on her breasts as she leaned down and kissed him. The kiss started slowly, their mouths working at each others, and then Inuyasha's entire passion was unleashed. His hands were all over her, hers all over him, and his hands were running through her hair, and he was moaning into the kiss, and she was gasping, and the universe was exploding into a million tiny shards and fragments and then it was over. Suddenly. But they pulled away slowly and they were smiling and tears were streaming down Kagome's face and Inuyasha's face.

"You're telling me the truth…" Kagome said, all anger, fear, horror, disbelief, hatred gone. And everything was back in her eyes, in her voice, in her heart. She loved him. She believed him.

"I've never said one lie to you. Never. I love you. Hmmm." His voice was groggy, drunken sounding as his placed his hands on her lower back and pressed her body to his, both of them moaning softly. Inuyasha was sitting, Kagome kneeling, and she looked down at his, his chin resting gently on her breasts.

"I love you too." Kagome said, smiling the brightest smile she had ever in his presence. It was over. His past was erased, just like that. It didn't matter. He was changed. He was suddenly real again. Human. "This is real," she said.

"This is how it's supposed to feel…" Inuyasha replied, kissing her breasts lightly, though the bra still covered most of them. She sighed and pressed his head closer. And then the were falling, Kagome on top of Inuyasha, each of them smothering the other with kisses until the sun crawled down, down, down.

A/N: Silly lovers… it's not that easy… oh bad things are coming… heh heh heh… REVIEW AND YOU'LL FIND OUT JUST WHAT COMES NEXT! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!


	10. Blood

A/N: SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG! While writing this chapter, I was listening to The Used. And, being as how I'm on their street team, I should promote them so… BUY THE USED CD! I highly recommend the song "Sound Effects and Overdramatics," "All That I've Got," "I Caught Fire (In your eyes)," and "Choke Me," which is on their first CD. Both CDs rock hard. I LUV METAL ROCK!

Inuyasha is a merciless assassin who can never satisfy his lust for blood. His life is full of lies, cheating, drugs, sex, and killing. And then he is hired to kill a girl who is different from all the others, and his bitterness is put to the test. Can she change him from the monster he is?

Chapter 10 (WOOHOO! THE DOUBLE DIGITS!)

The forest was quite for the rest of the day. Morning had faded into a warm, cozy afternoon lit by the soft light penetrating the forest, and then into evening when the sun began to set and the forest was lit in a purple glow, and then night when the forest became a vast black zone of silence. Inuyasha's cell phone was floating in the current of the brook nearly two miles from where Inuyasha and Kagome were, at the special area, carried downstream by the brook. The forest around them was now a still black of night, the last rays of sunlight drowned out by the thick canopy of the trees. The temperature was dropping rapidly, so Inuyasha and Kagome pulled their clothes on, which had dried from their rendezvous in the icy brook water by the suffocating sunlight of the afternoon. Still cold in the dark loneliness of the empty darkness, they held each other in tight grips. A colony of mosquitoes swarmed around them and gathered by the water until they moved on down the brook, their soft buzz leaving the two in the silent darkness once again. Kagome was laying between Inuyasha's legs as he leaned against The Tree, huddling up to his chest to escape the chilly air as Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her, her harms hanging delicately and loosely around his waist. She listened to his heart pattering softly and contentedly. Every now and then, Inuyasha would nuzzle the top of her long, dark hair and she would look up at him with her large, loving brown eyes until they kissed softly and innocently, their smiles soft and peaceful. Peaceful.

As it grew darker and darker, the crickets grew louder and louder and sang like the crisp, creaky, soothing strings of a violin, and the frogs began to croak to add a deep, resounding bass note that vibrated through the dark, and the stream rippled like the notes of a piano rippling up and down the scale, until there seemed to be an entire concerto engulfing the two like a blanket, and soon the chill gave way to a comfortable peace. The dark silence was over, and instead that were bathed in the sweet music of midnight.

Shattered Peace. And then the orchestra was shattered, murdered, slaughtered by the metallic, screeching sound of a sword sliding out of its sheath. Kagome's brown irises narrowed in fright. And then cruel laughter was filling the air like the smothering smoke of a fire gone out of control. Kagome clutched Inuyasha's shirt in the fist that formed at the sound of the demonic laughter. Fear was wafting off of her beautiful body like pollen from a dying flower. Inuyasha felt her heart bounding against his chest as he clutched her closer to his body. The need to protect her was choking him. The laughter came closer and closer, evil, taunting, and frightening. Soon, Kagome was shaking with fearful convulsions, then screaming, then she was crying and laughing and screaming. She was in a complete and delirious panic.

"Kagome! Kagome, shhh…! I'm here. I'm protecting you," he murmured to her, attempting to calm her in any way possible. He held her close, loving. Then he was standing up, holding onto her tightly to reassure her, and then pushing her behind him and pressing her up against the tree on her back, her stomach to his back. He wanted to help her feel secure, but at the same time be in a position in which he could protect and she could be guarded on all sides.

The forest suddenly became deadly quiet. Inuyasha's senses were turned to the max, alert for any sound or movement. Yet when Kagome whimpered softly, and he felt her body pressed against his, he softened for an instant. Just one millisecond, and then everything happened within the next millisecond. The shimmer of a polished silver blade flashing across Inuyasha's chest, Inuyasha falling to the ground in agony and shock, and then the sickening, gut wrenching sound as the blade plunged into Kagome's shoulder. Inuyasha watched through the dark, the growing rose of blood spiraling larger and larger, drenching her shirt in the reflected light of the blade as she gurgled and blood poured out of her mouth and over her soft, beautiful lips in tiny rivulets. She reached up, fingering the blood all over her breasts, now, and drew her finger away, gazing at the blood in a misty half-consciousness. And then the man pulled the sword out of her body, slowly. Laying her onto the soft ground, the attacker whispered "I'm sorry," before running into the night, quiet as a deer.

Inuyasha was left kneeling over Kagome's dying body. "No, no… no… no… NO!" he was muttering over and over again, ranging from barely audible whispers to shouts and screams of pain, rage, and misery. Kagome reached a trembling hand up to his face, stroking his cheek with the last of her strength. Her whispers were choked out, and blood was now pouring out of her mouth, splattering Inuyasha's face when she spoke, drenching the ground, the trees.

"I love you… Don't let… go." And then her life faded away into close to nothingness.

"No!" Inuyasha yelled. A tear escaped his eye, but before his misery could explode from his heart, his need to save her took over. He ripped her shirt down the middle, careful to stay away from the wound right over her right breast. Then, he carefully slid the blood soaked material from her body, aware not to let it touch the wound. And then, with the fabric removed, the blood began to gush harder, the flow thick and deadly. With a curse, Inuyasha tore off his own shirt and pressed it against the wound, ignoring the grimace of pain that appeared on Kagome's unconscious face, her pain breaking her into consciousness. But then, she quickly faded back. She continued to fade in and out of consciousness, moaning Inuyasha's name softly.

Inuyasha tied his shirt tightly around her chest, slowing the flow of blood. Then, as the blood continued to gush despite the restriction, he slid off both of his socks and covered the wound with them, then recovering it with his tied shirt. The blood flow was slowing gradually, easing Inuyasha's frantic acts, but he did not know if it was that there was no blood left for her to bleed, or if his tourniquet was working. Yet, he tucked an arm underneath her legs and her back and lifted her up, bridal style. Then, he was racing out of the forest with her in his arms.

Within two minutes, Kagome was laying on Inuyasha's messy, rotting bed. Inuyasha groaned in regret at having to lay her there, where she was not comfortable and where the wound was more likely to be infected, but it was the only place he could take her. She was fading quicker than before. Her skin was paling, and the pulsing of blood coming from her wound was thinning, her pulse slowing. Soon, her face was white and her body was shaking all over, involuntarily. Inuyasha removed the bloody material he had covered her wound with to soften the blood flow. Wincing, he poured alcohol onto the wound. He knew that if Kagome were conscious, she would be in even more excruciating pain, the wound plus the alcohol. He prayed that it wasn't hurting her in her unconscious state. The alcohol drained into the wound, and Inuyasha could see that it was deep. Very deep. Too deep. Yet the blade had not plunged completely through her; there was no exit wound for the blade. Yet Inuyasha could see that it was about four inches deep. He quickly pressed a waded up undershirt onto the wound. He pressed that against the wound to keep the blood in while he used another to wipe the blood around her wound, over her breasts, and down her stomach. Finally, her paling flesh was visible through the blood. Then, he used another shirt to wrap around her again. After tying a tourniquet around her chest for the wound, he leaned back and sighed with misery, sorrow, and sleep.

Yet he realized that though he had done all he could for the wound, the rest of Kagome's body was still shaking, and still dying. With a jolt of terror, he ran frantically to the refrigerator. Water and Soda… he snatched the soda from the shelf and ran to Kagome. He dripped it into her mouth slowly and her body swallowed involuntarily. He knew, though, that her body needed glucose for energy to help restore her.

Finally, realizing that the flow of blood had slowed and that color was beginning to pour back into her skin pigmenting her to her normal, sweet olive complexion. Her cheeks became rosy, and her breathing became more level. Yet the pain was still visible on her unconcious face. Yet he knew that with the right care, she would heal. In about an hour her would remove the bandages and dress the wound with bacitracin or neosporin. And then he would cover it with new, fresh material. And then, knowing that Kagome would survive, knowing that she would heal, knowing that he would be able to hear her voice again, to see her eyes open again, he realized that the blood that was still flowing was his own.

A quick glance down at the slash across his chest, and then black.

A/N: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Is Inuyasha gonna die from blood loss? Will Kagome die without him to help her? And who was the attacker? ONLY I KNOW! REVIEW IF YOU WANT MORE!


	11. Purpose: To Kill

A/N: IM SORRY! I've been slacking. I admit it. I haven't been a dedicated writer, yet I must thank all of my dedicated readers and ask for forgiveness on abandoning this story. Well, here I go again...

Inuyasha is a merciless assassin who can never satisfy his lust for blood. His life is full of lies, cheating, drugs, sex, and killing. And then he is hired to kill a girl who is different from all the others, and his bitterness is put to the test. Can she change him from the monster he is?

Chapter 11

Darkness. Crickets chirping. A soft breeze rustling the leaves of the trees. Night. How long had it been, Inuyasha asked himself as he propped himself up on his elbows. Looking around, he suddenly remembered; the attack, Kagome dying, him helping her best he could and knowing he had to keep an eye on her at all times. Paying too much attention to her so that by the time he realized that he, too, was injured he was already falling to the floor towards unconsciousness. Yet now he wasn't just on the floor. He had been laid on a pile of blankets and covered with more blankets. His head had been resting on a pillow.

He jumped up quickly. Too quickly. He felt suddenly dizzy and stumbled, tripping and falling to the floor again. He looked down at his wound. It was bandaged and was already scabbing from the portion of the blade's slash that he could see out of the top of the bandage. He could see that it wasn't deep, but it was long and he must have lost a lot of blood. That must have been why he had fainted.

But who had cared for him. Who had dressed his wound and who had laid him on the blanket. And then he glanced quickly at the bed. Kagome was there, sitting up. One shoulder was heavily bandaged and her arm hung limply to her side. The other arm was holding her wounded shoulder. Inuyasha jumped up again, but slower this time, and walked to her. Then he sat down beside her on the old bed.

"Hey," he said stupidly.

"Hey," she answered. "How are you feeling?"

Inuyasha snickered and then grimaced, looking at her shoulder. "I should be asking you that. I'm fine. You... Were in pretty bad condition." He kept eyeing her limp shoulder nervously.

"It hurts... I cant really move that arm much or I nearly faint from the pain. It hurts so much..." her voice faded of and her eyes glazed over as she looked at the cement floor. Then she jerked her eyes up and met his. "Thank you for saving me," she said.

"Thank you for... Thank you for saving me..." he repeated to himself. He looked down, then quickly back at her. "How long..?" he began.

"I woke up yesterday afternoon. I suppose I had been out for one whole day, and then I woke up the next day. It's late now. Two A.M. We should both try to sleep the rest of the night. In the morning we'll figure everything out."

Inuyasha shook his head. "No. Well... so it's been two days. You were out for one and a half, and I've been out for the past two days. How... how could you have gotten up with the pain."

"I got scared when I saw you. I sorta tried to jump up and run to you, but when I tried I felt off of the bed and to the floor. I think I passed out for an hour or so because I hit my head on the cement. Anyway, when I came to, I just kinda shimmied over to you. And after trying a bit I stood up and walking didn't hurt too much, as long as I made sure not to move this side of my upper body," Kagome explained, motioning toward her injured shoulder. "I cleaned you up and then bandaged the slash, but I could see that it wasn't too deep. It took a long time because I kept having to rest for long periods after moving too much. It took about fifteen minutes to get to the bathroom," she said, motioning towards the small bathroom only about ten feet away. "But I kept at it. I've slept a lot, and I'm starting to feel less weak around the rest of my body, but I haven't been able to help myself much. It... hurts to touch it or move it at all. It hurts a lot." She winced, imagining the pain. Her fingers fluttered over the bloody bandage on her shoulder. Then she let her arm fell limply to her side.

Inuyasha took her hand gently in his and held it to his chest. Then he brought it to his lips and kissed it. Then he kissed each finger once, just pressing them lightly to his lips while Kagome giggled softly. Then she was laughing, her shoulders shaking with each laugh, but then suddenly she wrenched her hand away and gripped her injured shoulder in pain. She winced and a tear slid down her cheek. Inuyasha jumped off of the bed and knelt in front of her, a hand on her other shoulder, soothing her, whispering softly and repeated "I'm sorry" over and over again. Kagome removed her hand slowly and lay back onto the bed carefully. Inuyasha then said one last "I'm sorry" and walked over to the bathroom to get alcohol and a fresh shirt to bandage Kagome with.

He slowly and carefully unwrapped the bandage from around her, biting his lower lip until he could taste the blood pouring into his mouth. The cloth was stiff with dried blood, and it stuck to her skin and to the wound. After ten minutes of carefully picking and pulling and prodding and biting the soft skin on the inside of his mouth, he finally removed the crusty, stiff bandage from Kagome's shoulder. When he finally looked up from his grueling and intense job, he saw tears streaming down Kagome's face. A small rivulet of blood was slithering out of her mouth until he reached up and wiped it away. Kagome shook her head slowly, hesitantly, then spoke.

"No, I'm fine," she answered him, without him even questioning. "It hurts but I'll be fine..." she said, then she looked down at her shoulder and winced. The wound was bleeding again, the crusted blood removed. Inuyasha unfolded the fresh shirt and laid it on the bed next to Kagome, kneeling at her feet. He uncapped the alcohol and poured it into the wound until it filled it and the alcohol leveled across her skin. Instantly Kagome started shrieking and flinching, nearly screaming, with pain as the alcohol stung her wound. Inuyasha gripped her good shoulder in his firm grip to stop her jerks and placed the other hand softly against her cheek, soothing her until the stinging wore off and Kagome relaxed.

"I'm sorry, baby," Inuyasha said softly. Kagome nodded and smiled as best she could through her pained tears.

"It's okay," she said quietly. The after a pause, "Thank you."

Inuyasha looked at her, tilting his head to the side slightly in question.

"Thank you for being here with me. For saving me." Inuyasha stood up, then, and began to back away from her as she repeated her words. And then he realized that he was the one repeating the words. It was his mouth moving slowly, repeating her words over and over.

"No...No... God how could I let this happen to you! You shouldn't have needed to be saved! It was all my fault..."

"What are you talking about Inuyasha?" Kagome tried to reach for him, but then drew back and gently gripped her shoulder.

"It's was my job to kill you. If I would have just done it, they would not have attacked you. And they won't stop until you're dead. They won't stop until I do my job."

And with that he took a step towards her.


	12. Escape

A/N: Here we go… This chapter is pretty intense so… I hope you guys are ready.

Chapter 12:

The words repeated over in her head, just once before she realized she needed to run. "It was my job to kill you. If I would have just done it, they would not have attacked you. And they won't stop until you're dead. They won't stop until I do my job."

As she jumped to her feet, grimacing in pain, she remembered his hands on her body, his mouth on hers, his eyes locking hers in a loving gaze. The click from childhood to adulthood. A tear leapt from her eye as she spun away to run for the stairs. Out of the corner of her eye she saw it land on Inuyasha's chest. She saw him look down, a flicker of the new fire in his eyes, and realized this was her chance.

She ran up the stairs, but he was only a heartbeat behind. As she reached the top after taking the stairs two at a time, she briefly felt his fingers brush her injured shoulder, then grabbed the door handle and flung it shut in his face. She heard him yelp in surprise and then bellow in anger as he fell backwards down the stairs.

Kagome then reached gently, carefully, for her shoulder. She pat the bandage gently with her fingertips and sank down to the floor with her back leaning on the door to the basement. When she drew her fingers away, they were drenched in her own deep red blood. She drew a deep breath, the pain draining from her body after her previous exertions. She took on second to think, and it was her biggest mistake.

Inuyasha had seemed to love her. She would have bet her life on his genuineness. Yet that had been his exact act with any other girl he assassinated. He was practiced to perfection on conning girls. "I love you," meant nothing to him. If he was able to fool the other girls with those words, he definitely could have fooled her. And he had. And what hurt most is she loved him.

Just as that last thought danced through her head, a loud splintering sound echoed through the abandoned house and the door she was leaning on shook. It repeated. Again, again, and again. And finally the sound was directly beside her head. She whimpered and her eyes flickered to the sound to find a long, sharp knife pointing out of the wood of the door. She leapt up, stumbling in pain, and started running again after glancing back quickly to she Inuyasha's eye peering out of one of the knife holes.

"No!" she screamed in anguish more from her heart than from the excruciating pain in her shoulder. Her arm was drenched in thick, red blood from the shoulder to her fingernails where the blood was already drying and becoming a crusty coating on her fingertips. The thickness horrified her, and it wasn't stopping.

Then she ran. She knew her destination, now. She ran out of the house, down the front path, and to the road waving frantically. Blood was spewing out of her shoulder, drenching the walkway, the grass, the road, and her. Her long dark hair was in warm, wet clumps from the blood. And she shook and waved, she felt her body fading, losing consciousness and going into shock. Yet no car approached her. The street was desolate, and the wind was rustling softly through the tree leaves was the only movement or sound.

She savored the peace for a moment too long. Then came another movement and sound. One that made Kagome's blood run cold. The front door flinging open, and the angry, bloodcurdling scream from deep in Inuyasha's chest emerged from his mouth as he ran towards her, knife in his hand. Kagome backed off the curb, tripping into the road and falling on her back. She screeched in pain, her eyes squeesed shut in pain and her back arched in pain. She tried to reach to massage her back gently as she attempted to stand and run, but her arm wasn't working. The arm of the injured shoulder was completely paralyzed in shock. Tears were streaming down her cheeks now. A puddle of blood was forming underneath where she was laying on the pavement. The thick red liquid was rippling down into the gutter and spreading around her, seeming to engulf her. And a sob escaped her throat as she saw all the blood leaving her body. And then she realized she was dying.

"I've got you know, love," came the voice that she had once loved but now haunted her. He was right above her. Hovering. Looking down at her, grinning evilly with the knife raised beside his head.

'Why can't I just let him kill me…' Kagome questioned herself. Her body was dying as it was. But she knew that she did not want to die this way. With a final ounce of fight she kicked out at Inuyasha's ankles and her foot make contact. Inuyasha tripped backwards from the force of Kagome's kick and Kagome leapt to her feet and began running down the block. Her destination had been a hospital, but with no one around to rescue her she would never make it with Inuyasha running after her, especially because she was injured.

But the next loud sound she heard assured her that Inuyasha would not be running after her. The wheel of his Ferrari screeched out of the driveway and sped towards her. She didn't have time to think. She didn't have time to feel pain. She didn't have time to cry or scream or shriek. All she could do was run anywhere she could to get away from him.

She knew the only place she would be safe would be with more people. There, Inuyasha would not be able to kill her. Not with witnesses. She ran down the block faster than she had ever run in her life. Yet she was no match for a Ferrari. No match for any car. Especially not the car of a vicious murderer with her in his sights. And then she realized that she was running past houses. Homes of people who might be home. People who could save her. The closest house had two cars in the driveway and one on the street. That seemed like someone definitely had to be home.

She ran to the door and pounded on it with all of her strength, her eyes not comprehending the small white sign on the front door with a small child's handwriting on it. She pounded for ten seconds straight, heard a car door shut, knowing in was Inuyasha who would be behind her in a matter of seconds. So she read the sign.

"Party In Back!"

"Party in Back?" Kagome whispered, her shock preventing her ability to think straight. And then she realized, just a second in time. She remembered her childhood parties in her yard when she would happily make a sign telling people to head to the backyard for the party.

She ran just as Inuyasha reached her. His hand gripped her arm, but she was slicked with blood, moist and slippery and she easily slid through his grip and ran. Looking down she saw that her entire body was drenched in blood, warm, wet blood. And as she ran through the white picket fence leading the backyard, her hands leaving bloody marks on the white. But the second she set foot in the yard, she felt salvation and relief greater then ever before in her life. And she saw Inuyasha shrink back. She heard his words...

"I'll get you."

And then she walked into the party. With a small yelp, she watched a dozed heads wearing cone-shaped party hats turn to stare at her. She heard at least five little children start crying at the same time. And as she fell to the grass she saw the puddle of blood underneath her already and her head crashed to the ground. But as she watched three adults run towards her, motherly concern on their faces, she knew she was safe, even though she saw the final glimpse of a killer glaring at her from the from yard before running out of sight.


End file.
